


You're It

by inks0up (krikkit_war_robot)



Series: Return to the Studio [2]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Gen, and Henry's such a Dad(TM), i swear the ink demon is just a big goofy child, they're perfect for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2020-08-10 17:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20139505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krikkit_war_robot/pseuds/inks0up
Summary: Henry isn't sure what to make of the Ink Demon's odd behavior, but it turns out Bendy isn't nearly as evil or dangerous as Henry first thought.





	1. Chapter 1

1970.

The end of the sixties, a decade filled with world-changing events, both good and bad. The Vietnam War and peace protests. The Cuban Missile Crisis and fears of nuclear war. Civil rights and political assassinations. Breakthroughs in science and technology. The space race and the moon landing. Beatlemania and rock and roll.

This past decade had brought some big changes to Henry’s personal life, too. His children’s graduations and weddings. The births of his three grandchildren. Long-awaited retirement.

When it came to how life-changing these events were, though, nothing came close to the letter he had received from Joey Drew in the fall of ‘69, an invitation to visit the old studio where they had spent years creating cartoons together in their younger days. It had been thirty years since they’d last worked together, and he and Joey had gradually lost touch since then. The opportunity to reconnect with an old friend and see how things were coming along at the old studio was one he gladly accepted.

This opportunity had not been at all what it had seemed, however. The studio had fallen into disrepair and become a nightmarish place, populated by deformed and monstrous cartoon characters who had turned against him, along with other hostile creatures made of ink. Joey was nowhere to be seen. The two of his old coworkers who were present - Sammy Lawrence and Norman Polk - had somehow become bizarre ink creatures that retained almost nothing of their former human selves.

If Henry had known that this was what awaited him, he would never have returned, but it was too late now. He was trapped in here, fighting and running for his life, while trying to find some way out and still getting no closer to escaping.

Yet something had changed since that Christmas party a week prior. Henry had become less wary of the studio’s inhabitants - still wary, of course, but less so - since seeing a gentler side to them. Bendy had showed him affection when he had the perfect opportunity to kill him. Sammy had showed him kindness in his own strange way. Norman had been helpful, or had at least tried to be. Henry hadn’t seen any real kindness from Alice, but she had organized the whole thing, which at least showed her to be not entirely unpleasant. Boris, unsurprisingly, remained a loyal companion. Of course, the searchers and the Butcher Gang were still an actual danger, but perhaps Henry had been wrong about the others.

Now Henry had arrived at the first floor. He had a plan this time for making his escape, a plan so obvious he didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it sooner. He’d brought with him several wooden boards he’d salvaged from haphazardly-repaired holes in the walls and other boarded-up areas and a hammer and nails that Boris had found for him so that he could build a makeshift bridge to cross the gaping hole in the floor by the exit. He had also brought his axe, of course, for protection and to break down the locked exit door.

However, as soon as the elevator doors opened, ink began to drip down the walls. An inconvenience, but not a surprise. Henry pressed the door button to close the doors and wait in the safety of the elevator for Bendy to leave. When Bendy came into view, though, Henry couldn’t help but wonder whether Bendy actually had any intent to harm him - something that had been on his mind for the past week.

“Bendy!” he called out. The demon stopped and looked at him, or at least seemed to be looking. He did seem to be capable of seeing, even though Henry wasn’t quite sure how.

But that was all. He just looked at Henry for a minute or so before he began to walk away. Henry still wanted to find out just what Bendy wanted with him, though, and there was enough distance between them that he felt he could safely take a risk. He pressed the button to open the elevator door.

“Bendy! Over here!” he called out again, this time with the door open. Bendy looked at him again and, this time, ran straight toward him, just as Henry had expected. As Bendy approached, Henry quickly hit the button again to close the door, leaving him and the demon face-to-face with only the grated metal door between them. Boris was cowering in fear in the corner of the elevator. Bendy reached through the grating in an apparent attempt to grab Henry, but Henry stepped back, out of his reach.

“Can’t get me in here, can you?” Bendy tried as hard as he could to reach Henry, but the spacious elevator made it impossible. Unable to reach him, he frowned and pulled his hand back. He grabbed the bars of the door with both hands and looked at Henry sadly. Even without eyes, Henry could tell from his frown and his posture that he seemed... defeated. It was the first time Henry had seen him with any other expression than that huge smile - which he had suspected until now was permanently stuck like that - and he was surprised at how much it hurt to see him like this.

Then again, despite all the terror he had caused him, Bendy was his own creation, in a sense. The feeling he got from seeing Bendy look sad like this was almost akin to seeing one of his own children or grandchildren hurt. Instead of teasing him further, Henry took a bold move.

“Bendy?” The demon immediately perked up at this acknowledgement, his usual big smile returning to his face. Henry couldn’t help but smile at the return of this happy expression, even though it had once unsettled him.

“Promise me you won’t hurt me, and I’ll let you in.” He held out his hand so that it was within Bendy’s reach, and Bendy reached in again and shook his hand. Well, that was a promise - and hopefully one that he wouldn’t regret. Henry picked up his axe and opened the door, keeping one hand over the door button and holding the axe in the other. He wasn’t about to let his guard down entirely. Not just yet. Bendy’s reaction was quite unexpected; he put his hand down - a bit forcefully - on top of Henry’s head for a brief second, then ran off, leaving Henry rather confused. The ink soon disappeared from the walls, indicating that Bendy was no longer nearby.

“What on earth was that all about?” Henry wondered aloud, though he figured he may never know.

Henry set to work, with Boris’ help, getting the supplies to the exit and nailing together boards to bridge across the huge hole by the door. Soon, he would finally be out of here. It felt almost too good to be true.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of leaving, Henry,” said Alice, over the speakers. How was it she always seemed to be watching?

“I am,” Henry replied, even though he had no idea if she could hear him. He normally wouldn’t defy her like this, but he was finally about to leave. She didn’t pose any threat to him anymore.

“You’re staying here, whether you want to or not. I will _not_ let you leave.” Sure, she could say that, but what could she really do? He ignored her and pushed the makeshift wooden bridge across the hole in the floor. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite long enough. He pulled it back onto the solid floor so that it wouldn’t fall in.

“Looks like we’ll need some more wood.”

Henry picked up his axe and got up, about to set off to find more wood he could salvage. When he turned around, however, he came face-to-face with Alice, who was standing in a puddle of ink. Had she transported herself there through the ink, like Bendy did? Henry was certain that she hadn’t been there just a moment ago - he was sure her voice had come from the speakers, not from right behind him.

“I said, I will _not_ let you leave!” shouted the angel, clearly angered, as she attempted to grab the axe out of Henry’s hands. Henry held firmly onto it, but it melted down into ink, just like the tommy gun she had offered to him. Unless there was another axe somewhere, he was going to need a new escape plan.

“Don’t even think of trying something like that again,” she warned before walking away.


	2. Chapter 2

Henry spent the next few days completing seemingly arbitrary yet dangerous tasks for Alice. He had nothing to defend himself with except for Sammy’s banjo, which Alice had given to him. It wasn’t very effective as a weapon, and Sammy would probably kill him if it got damaged, but the angel wouldn’t allow him to use anything else. She’d even told him that it would be “good” if he damaged it because, as she so harshly put it, “that backstabbing liar Sammy doesn’t deserve to have anything.” Henry had a feeling this was some sort of twisted punishment for his escape attempt - plus an apparent act of revenge against Sammy. What for, Henry had no clue, but it was quite obvious from how she spoke of him that she held a strong grudge against him.

Now wasn’t the time to wonder about that, though. Henry had more important things to worry about: notably, the fact that his quest to collect extra thick ink for Alice had brought him to the music department. When she had tasked him with this before, he had been given that ink syringe to use. It was an awkward weapon to wield, but it had at least been useful for collecting the ink. This time, though, this job involved whacking swollen searchers with a banjo and scooping up their ink in a bucket. To complicate things further, he was in the place where he was most likely to be caught by the former music director, who was also the owner of said banjo.

In the recording studio, another swollen searcher appeared. As Henry readied the banjo to strike, he heard a shout from the balcony behind him:

“You stole my banjo!”

Uh-oh. It was Sammy. Having to remain focused on the more immediate danger, Henry repeatedly bashed the searcher with the banjo until only a puddle of thick, goopy ink remained, at which point he was immediately tackled to the ground, spilling his bucket of ink. Sammy forcefully took back his banjo from Henry and got back up. Henry got up as well.

“I never expected you to steal from me, Henry,” he said sternly. “I thought you were my friend, someone I could trust. Not a thief who doesn’t even respect valuable instruments.”

His friend? That was certainly a stretch. Henry didn’t consider Sammy his “friend” after one awkward but non-hostile conversation and an odd Christmas present - but he wasn’t the one who’d been deprived of any normal social interaction for thirty years. Henry hadn’t changed nearly as much as Sammy had in that time, either, so perhaps Sammy also still saw him as his old friend from years ago. Henry, however, couldn’t possibly see Sammy that same way. Besides his love of music and how protective he was of that particular banjo, he bore almost no resemblance to his former human self.

“I didn’t steal it. Honest,” Henry told him, avoiding eye contact. That mask, with its cheerful cartoon face, made it hard to take him seriously.

“Then how did you get it? Don’t pretend you found it and didn’t know it was mine; I know you know it’s mine.” He sounded quite ticked off. The old music director was still as easily agitated as ever. “And why would you even _think_ to use it as a weapon?”

“Alice gave it to me,” Henry informed him. Sammy went quiet, seemingly in thought.

“Susie...” he finally uttered.

“No, Alice,” Henry corrected. That was a name he hadn’t heard in a long time - assuming Sammy was referring to Susie Campbell. He was rather confused as to why Sammy had said her name; she wasn’t in the studio, right? Henry hadn’t seen her in many years, not since she was still the voice actress for...

Oh.

“Alice is Susie.”

OH.

Now things were beginning to make sense. Perhaps this was just another of Sammy’s delusions, but Henry had a feeling that Sammy was right, that maybe Alice actually was Susie Campbell. He had heard her refer to herself as “Susie” once, after all, and he’d stumbled across old audio recordings where Susie had talked about feeling a real personal connection to Alice and even liking it when she was called by Alice’s name.

It all clicked. Susie Campbell and Alice Angel really were the same person, weren’t they? The only thing that didn’t make sense was how she had become Alice, but Henry could overlook that question. The answer was presumably the same explanation as to how Sammy and Norman ended up in the ways they did, whatever that reason was.

“What happened?” Henry asked, hoping the question wouldn’t come off as too insensitive. “Between you two, I mean.” Back in the day, Sammy and Susie had gotten along exceptionally well - which had been quite surprising, as he hardly got along with anyone. There had even been rumors circulating that the relationship between them was more than just that of friendly coworkers, although Henry never knew or asked whether the rumors were true. If Alice, who clearly hated Sammy, was Susie... well, that was quite a shock.

“She lost her role,” Sammy answered. “Joey replaced her. She came into the recording studio during rehearsal one day... when was that? After you left... I don’t remember when. Anyway, the new voice actress... Alyssa... Alexis? What was her name... Allison! Yes, Allison, I think that was it. Susie saw Allison rehearsing with me. She was very upset... she blamed me for replacing her. I thought Joey had told her, but he hadn’t. I actually told Joey I was against replacing her, and I told her what I told him... but she blamed me and never forgave me.”

“I’m sorry...” said Henry sympathetically.

“It’s fine,” Sammy replied. “She isn’t important to me anymore. My lord Bendy is the only one who matters to me now!”

An unfortunately predictable twist. Listening to Sammy recall the old studio days reminded Henry of the Sammy Lawrence he once knew. That human Sammy must still be within him somewhere, and it had almost seemed as if his old self had come back for a moment there.

But now he was just the crazy, cartoon-demon-worshipping Sammy again. Henry couldn’t help but wonder if his obsession with Bendy was also somehow related to the hostile relationship between him and Alice, but he figured it was best not to ask, if only to avoid having to listen to his insane ramblings.

“Henry!” Alice’s dreaded voice called over the speaker. “Getting distracted, I see?” Henry obediently picked up the bucket from the floor to scoop up what he could of the spilled ink. “Good, good, back to work... but there’s something you’re forgetting. You don’t plan on destroying those swollen searchers with your bare hands, do you? That could be a tragic mistake. It would be a shame if anything terrible happened to you.”

He did need a weapon, but he wasn’t going to take Sammy’s banjo again if he had an option. Unfortunately, the axe, the only weapon he had managed to keep from Alice, no longer existed. He glanced around the room to see if he could spot something - besides musical instruments, ideally - that he could use as a makeshift weapon, but there was nothing useful to be seen.

“Take the banjo.”

Henry did not try to take the banjo. He didn’t even ask for it.

“Take the banjo, Henry,” Alice repeated, more forcefully this time. Henry still didn’t respond. “Are you disobeying me?” she asked scornfully. “Why, up until your little getaway attempt recently, I never would have dreamed you’d be one to disobey. You did so much for me, never hesitating to do any favor I asked, but now...” She sounded as though she was starting to cry, though Henry suspected it might only be an act. He knew how manipulative she could be. “I trusted you, Henry! I trusted you, and you... you betrayed me! First Sammy, then Joey, and now you! How could you?!”

Henry couldn’t deny that the loud sobbing that followed Alice’s outburst did make him feel a little bad, though he also knew better. Surely she knew that the only thing which motivated him to do her bidding was fear. It was only because of her threats that he obeyed without question.

So there were surely more threats to come.

“Sammy, I need your banjo,” Henry said. Sammy refused to give it to him. “Please. I don’t want it, but she’s persistent.”

His pleading was enough for Alice to drop her “betrayal” act.

“You’re so naïve, aren’t you? Thinking he’ll give it up that easily. He’s a stubborn one, that Sammy, and his banjo is so very precious to him... you may have to fight him for it.”

That was something Henry wasn’t willing to do.

“What are you waiting for? Take it from him. Fight him if you have to. Beat him up and make him beg for mercy! Better yet, kill him! It’s what he deserves!” She paused briefly before continuing in a calmer tone. “Oh, I’m sorry, I let myself get too carried away there. Don’t kill him. That would be completely unacceptable. Sammy Lawrence is a wretched, pathetic fool... and the man who ruined my life and my career. I would be a star if it weren’t for him! Just imagine how wonderful that would be! So don’t kill him... it wouldn’t be right. What he deserves is nothing less than me killing him myself! Oh, and Henry? You’re next, if you don’t learn to behave soon.”

“Sammy, I don’t want to fight you,” Henry began.

“You can’t have it,” Sammy interrupted. He sounded surprisingly calm for someone who had just been threatened with death.

“She’s gonna kill us both if you don’t cooperate.”

“She won’t,” said Sammy. “She says that sometimes. She doesn’t follow through.”

“She tried to kill me once.” Henry was getting frustrated with Sammy’s failure to comprehend the urgency of the situation. Their lives were at risk here!

“If I remember correctly... she didn’t hurt you, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Henry answered. “But that was just luck.”

“No, Henry, she let you live. That’s what she does. She won’t hurt you. She only wants to make you afraid.”

Henry figured that Sammy could be right - he knew Alice far better than Henry did, after all - but he still didn’t feel comfortable taking his chances.

Before he could continue trying to convince Sammy to cooperate, Alice entered the recording studio and approached Henry. Hopefully Sammy was right about her; otherwise, it was likely too late for both of them.

“Still not listening to me?” she asked with disdain.

“I’m trying to get him to cooperate,” he answered, trying not to show his fear.

“I told you you would have to fight him. Why didn’t you?”

Henry was too afraid to defy her. Thankfully, Sammy intervened. He hit Alice over the head with a chair, causing her to collapse and melt into a puddle of ink.

Had Sammy just _killed_ Alice?

Apparently not. An arm reached out from the ink puddle, grabbing Sammy by the leg. Alice’s other arm surfaced next, her hand placing itself on the floor next to the puddle. Alice pulled her upper body out from the inky puddle.

“How dare you attack me?” she hissed.

Without flinching, Sammy picked up the chair and used it to strike her again.

“Stay down until my lord gets here,” he said. He seemed completely unfazed by this ordeal, leaving Henry wondering if this sort of thing was a regular occurrence.

Sammy began to draw a large pentagram on the floor, which Henry took as a sign to leave. He had no intention to stick around for whatever was about to happen.

Soon after Henry left the recording studio, ink started dripping down the walls. Henry instinctively tensed up at this sign, but he reminded himself that there was no danger this time. Sammy had summoned Bendy to deal with Alice, that was all. Henry still wasn’t sure if Bendy was an actual threat or not, but, as long as he remained alert and didn’t enter the recording studio, there was no danger.

Suddenly, he heard the recording studio’s door open. Henry turned around to look - possibly a mistake, but hopefully not - and saw Bendy peeking out at him from the doorway. The moment Henry saw him, he quickly retreated into the recording studio and shut the door.

“What on earth are you up to, Bendy?” Henry wondered, confused. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Bendy in a few days - not since their encounter while he was trying to escape - which was quite odd. Peaceful - or at least as peaceful as being bossed around by a sadistic angel in a studio full of other inky monsters could be - but definitely odd. Now, after being summoned, Bendy seemed to be hiding from him. Something wasn’t right here.

The only sign of Bendy was the web of dripping ink that appeared now and then along the walls, but Bendy himself was never anywhere to be seen. Each time it happened, Henry would hide. He’d been hoping for more friendly interactions with the mischievous demon, but he was not yet prepared to do so without some type of safety precaution - he’d typically hide either in a Little Miracle Station, holding the door open with one hand so he could quickly slam it shut if need be, or in the elevator, one hand hovering over the door button. Wherever he hid, however, Bendy never came into view anymore, despite Henry’s anticipation.

There had also been new messages that appeared on the walls over the past few days, possibly left by Bendy. Messages such as “CATCH ME IF YOU CAN” and “YOU’RE IT HENRY” had been appearing, but Henry had been too focused on surviving Alice’s most recent series of errands to read too far into these messages.

It made sense now, though. Bendy had written those messages on the walls to encourage Henry to come after him, hadn’t he? Bendy had run off suddenly after touching Henry the other day, and now he was encouraging him to catch him - he was acting like a child playing a game of tag! When he hid from Henry a moment earlier, he must have been expecting him to follow. Of course, Bendy had only opened that door to catch Henry’s attention!

Henry smiled at this realization. All this time, he’d thought he was running for his life from a monster that was trying to kill him, but it turned out that Bendy had only wanted to play all along. Bendy was no monster! How could Henry have been so stupid? This was Bendy, his Bendy, the mischievous yet sweet and friendly little demon - well, maybe not so little anymore - who he had spent years drawing and animating. He never should have been afraid of him!

Now Henry wanted to follow Bendy into the recording studio, but he decided against it. If Alice was still in there, it was best for him to stay away. He’d surely find Bendy later anyway.

To Henry’s disappointment, Bendy did not show up later.


	3. Chapter 3

The safe house had gotten its name because it was, presumably, safe from Bendy and the other creatures that lurked the studio. That - in addition to the fact that it contained the amenities necessary for an actual house - was why Boris had been living there for so long and why Henry had chosen to join him there once he discovered it. It was the one part of the studio that had really come to feel like home, and the one place which was assumed to be a safe haven.

That was why Henry did not expect to wake up in the middle of the night to find an eight-foot-tall demon towering over him. In a panic, he scrambled to get out of bed and find a place to hide, but there was nowhere-

Bendy was gone. Had Henry just imagined him there in his half-asleep state and panicked? No, he was certain he’d seen Bendy just now. There was no doubt about it. Henry took a moment to breathe and collect himself, reminding himself that Bendy wasn’t a threat, no matter how terrifying he appeared. He got up after a short while and opened the door.

“Bendy?” he called out from the doorway. Still feeling somewhat on edge, he gripped the door handle and didn’t step into the hallway. Better safe than sorry. The demon peeked out around the corner at the other end of the hall, then quickly retreated out of sight.

He still wanted to play, didn’t he?

This playful behavior put Henry a little more at ease. Even though it was the middle of the night, he left the bedroom to follow Bendy to the main room of the safe house, where Bendy appeared to be staring at the exit door. The door was shut, and the lever was missing. Boris had possibly taken it and bolted to get away and trap Bendy inside. Not an ideal plan, as Bendy was able to escape through the ink, while Henry was actually trapped inside. Good thing Bendy wasn’t dangerous after all.

“Bendy, it’s the middle of the night. What are you doing here?”

Bendy darted to the shelves by the wall and quickly climbed onto the top shelf. His size made it a ridiculous sight, the large demon crouching down on the top shelf, wedged between the shelf and the ceiling. It was a wonder he could even fit in such a tight space. He watched Henry in a way that seemed to be inviting him to play his game.

“I can still reach you there, you know.” Henry walked over to the shelves, reached up, and patted Bendy on the head. “You’re it,” he said with a smile. “Now let me get some sleep.”

While walking back to the bedroom, Henry heard Bendy come down from the shelf. His descent sounded anything but graceful, with a loud thud and the clatter of soup cans hitting the floor.

Surely he was fine, though. There was no way a fall from that low could have harmed him.

Henry had just gotten into bed when Bendy entered the room and sat down on the floor, next to the bed. Henry wanted to go back to sleep, and he didn’t know what Bendy wanted, but he didn’t have the heart to shoo away the demon who was following him like a lost puppy.

“Need something?” Henry asked, sitting up.

Bendy didn’t respond.

“...can you speak?”

What kind of question was that? Bendy was from a silent cartoon; of course he couldn’t speak! Henry would have to learn to interpret his body language, just as he had with Boris. Luckily, the amount of time he’d spent with Boris and the years he’d spend animating the two helped give him some understanding of Bendy’s communication. Bendy was also able to write, which would be helpful, though so far he had only done so on the walls.

“Do you just want my attention?”

That was it. Bendy laid his head down on Henry’s lap. Henry couldn’t help but smile at how unexpectedly cute this gesture was as he gently stroked the demon’s head, listening to him... purr? How strange.

No, he wasn’t purring. This was a different sound.

Breathing?

Oh dear. That sounded bad. Henry watched Bendy’s chest rise and fall in sync with the sound of his labored breathing. He was breathing, all right. He seemed unbothered by it, at least, but Henry still felt concerned. Just what was his poor creation going through? He’d been abandoned by his creators for thirty years, forced to live in this hellish place, yet he remained playful and affectionate. He walked with an obvious limp that looked like it made walking a chore, yet he could easily outrun Henry with seemingly little effort. His eyes, assuming he had any, were completely obscured, yet he seemed to be able to see. And now, with their closeness in the quiet of the safe house, Henry noticed that even Bendy’s breathing sounded awful - though why he needed to breathe or whether it bothered him, Henry had no idea.

How much pain was he in, if any at all? Was he even able to feel pain?

Henry laid back down. He needed sleep, and these questions would get him nowhere. Bendy climbed on top of him, like a big dog that didn’t understand it wasn’t a puppy anymore. Thankfully, he was a lot lighter than he looked, so Henry wasn’t particularly uncomfortable underneath him.

Despite being on top of Henry and too big for the bed, Bendy quickly fell asleep. Beneath him, Henry stayed awake much longer. He had too much on his mind. He was overwhelmed with concern and pity for Bendy. Happy as the demon seemed, Henry saw too many reasons to believe he was actually suffering. He felt guilt and regret, as well. Had he known that Bendy existed as an actual living being, he never would have left. He wouldn’t have abandoned him and left him to suffer without him. If only it wasn’t too late to change that.

Bendy seemed so peaceful as he slept. That was good, at least.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Henry woke up feeling exhausted. He hadn’t slept nearly enough. He got up to make himself some coffee - he’d definitely need it to wake up today.

As soon as he saw him, Bendy ran toward Henry. On instinct, Henry tried to run; with nowhere safe to run to, though, Bendy quickly caught up to him and gave him a big hug, nearly knocking him over.

“You’ve gotta stop scaring me like that!” Henry said, returning the hug. It had become second nature for him to run for his life at the sight of the demon; it would probably take quite some time for him to not instinctively be afraid when he seemed to be being chased, despite knowing Bendy was friendly.

The two separated, and, looking up at Bendy’s face, Henry had an idea.

“Let me see your face,” he said, reaching a hand up to the demon’s face to wipe away the ink obscuring half his face. The ink was thick and congealed, mostly solidified. Henry’s attempt to wipe it away only smudged it slightly - and left sticky black ink on the palm of his hand. Bendy put his hand to his face as well and also tried to wipe the ink clear, but this only smudged it slightly more than Henry did.

Poor Bendy. He didn’t deserve to be in such a state.

For a short while, the room was silent except for Bendy’s loud breathing, until Alice broke the silence with her announcement:

“Henry, I think it’s time you and I had a little talk about what happened yesterday. Come down to Level 9.”

Henry had been dreading this. He still had unfinished work to do for the angel, and she certainly hadn’t been happy with his defiance yesterday.

“Sorry, Bendy. I have to go.” He started to leave, but Bendy grabbed him by the shoulders to stop him.

“Do behave this time,” Alice continued. “I would hate to have to hurt you.”

“I really have to go,” Henry repeated. “Alice wants me.” He removed the demon’s hands from his shoulders - surprisingly, Bendy didn’t resist - and went to leave.

Then he saw why Bendy let him leave so easily. The door was still shut, with the lever still missing. Until Boris returned with it, he was stuck here.

Where was Boris, anyway? Henry could only hope that he was safe, wherever he was.

Almost as if she had read his mind, Alice spoke again:

“I have Boris. Now come to me. I’m getting impatient, Henry.”

This was bad news. Very bad news. Henry became very afraid for Boris’ safety. If he didn’t get to Alice soon - and he saw no way of doing so - it surely wouldn’t be long before his Boris became yet another dead Boris that littered Alice’s floor. He was afraid, and he was powerless to save Boris.

“Alice, I can’t! I’m trapped in here!” Henry shouted, desperately hoping Alice could hear him.

“Don’t keep me waiting.”

Had she not heard him? Could she even see him in the safe house? If she couldn’t, that was bad. She’d have no way of knowing that Henry actually wasn’t able to do as she ordered.

No, there had to be some way out of here. Every difficult situation he’d gotten into so far in this studio had had some solution. He’d gotten out of places where he’d been trapped and into places that had seemed inaccessible. He’d managed to start up the ink machine without having the slightest idea of how it even worked. He’d been through so much danger, surviving tasks where he’d been forced to risk his life time and time again to satisfy Alice’s whims. He’d even been tied up and nearly sacrificed, and he’d even escaped from that.

This entire studio was against him, and he’d defied all odds so far. He wasn’t about to be defeated by Boris accidentally locking him in the safe house.

“There’s gotta be-”

“Get away from me!” Alice suddenly shouted. “You vile demon! Leave me alone!”

Or there was that solution. Alice’s screams and her pleas for Bendy to get away from her were quite unsettling. The scene that played out over the speakers was reminiscent of the sacrifice incident, when Bendy had unexpectedly attacked Sammy. Henry had been certain Sammy had been killed back then, until he caught a glimpse of him wandering the Music Department hall several days later.

Then there was silence. That was a relief. Hopefully, that was a sign that Boris was safe now.

Several minutes later, Boris ran into the safe house, clearly frightened. Henry held the terrified wolf in a tight hug to calm him.

“You’re safe now, buddy,” he said softly. Boris was still shaking in fear. “Alice won’t get you in here.”

Henry noticed Bendy standing just outside the door. This was bad timing; he’d only scare Boris more if Boris knew he was here. Henry looked directly at Bendy and shook his head to signal to him that he should leave, not speaking to avoid alerting Boris to Bendy’s presence.

Instead of leaving, Bendy joined the hug, frightening the poor wolf further. He sure liked hugs, didn’t he?

“You’re fine, Boris,” Henry tried to assure him. “He won’t hurt us.”


	5. Epilogue

Several days passed, and Henry grew used to Bendy’s presence. He had to admit he quite liked having him around - although he would’ve liked for him to stop startling him every time he appeared. Sneaking up behind him, jumping up out of ink puddles, suddenly chasing him - that mischievous demon sure enjoyed making Henry jump.

Alice didn’t bother Henry for a couple of days. When she did request his presence again, Bendy made sure to put her in her place once more. She hadn’t called for him again since then, and nearly a week had passed.

Boris was, unfortunately, still quite afraid of Bendy, even though Henry had told him several times there’s no need to fear him. For a few days, he hid whenever Bendy was present - always in another room of the safe house; he’d refused to leave since Alice had kidnapped him. Each time, he refused to come out from hiding until Henry assured him that Bendy had left. After a few days, he started to become a little braver around Bendy, sometimes staying present but keeping his distance, noticeably nervous and scared.

A day came when Bendy brought something unexpected for Henry. He presented him with a few books on dark magic - an odd thing to give to Henry, though he wasn’t surprised that such books existed within the studio - and a note:

“HELP US”

The note confirmed Henry’s suspicions. Bendy was suffering more than he let on. And the others - Boris, Sammy, Norman, even Alice... they were suffering, too. They needed help, all of them.

Henry wanted to help them, he really did, but dark magic seemed far too dangerous. It surely carried all kinds of risks that Henry wasn’t willing to take.

If that was the only way to save them, there was nothing he could do.

Instead, he did what he could: he pulled Bendy into a hug, holding him close. He wished there was more he could do, but there wasn’t, and it was truly heartbreaking. He was filled with regret, which only grew with the sound of each difficult breath the demon took.

“I’m sorry, Bendy. I’m so, so sorry. I can’t help you.”


End file.
